Writing Contests, Grants & Awards

The Writing Contests, Grants & Awards database includes details about the creative writing contests—including poetry contests, short story competitions, essay contests, awards for novels, and more—that we’ve published in Poets & Writers Magazine during the past year. We carefully review the practices and policies of each contest before including it. Ours is the most trusted resource for legitimate writing contests available anywhere.

A prize of $1,000, publication by Ashland Poetry Press, and 50 author copies is given annually for a poetry collection. The winner is also invited to give a reading at Ashland University. David St. John...

Two prizes of $1,000 each and publication by Red Hen Press are given annually for a poetry collection and a book of prose by women writers. The winners also receive $1,000 each for promotional and travel...

A prize of $5,000 is given annually for a second book of poetry by a U.S. poet that will be published in the forthcoming year. The winner also receives an all-expenses-paid weeklong residency at the...

Individual Artist Fellowships of $5,000 each are given annually to Minnesota writers, and Career Development Grants of up to $3,000 each are given twice a year to Minnesota writers to pursue a specific...